The Jar
by SecretCapulet
Summary: ACII One-off. Ezio returns once more to Leonardo's workshop, only to find him struggling with a simple task. Ezio/Leonardo


_Just a cute little one-shot. Ezio and Leonardo = **BEST. ACII PAIRING. EVER** (L)__(L)_

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_Ezio smiled as he approached the all-too familiar building, a new Codex page in his pouch. With a pleasant sigh, he pulled back his thick, white hood before knocking on the intricately designed wooden door and allowing himself inside.

The Assassin frequently visited Leonardo da Vinci, so his best friend quickly became accustom to his obnoxious mode of entry to his workshop; whether it be through the front door or the window of the bedroom on the second floor.

"Leonardo?" Ezio called, hopping down the steps to the main floor of the workshop, where unfinished paintings, scrolls, pots of paints, scrap materials and parchment lay scattered, busily. Leonardo was known for his tidiness – or lack thereof – and seeing the grand mess that decorated the old building seemed only homely and welcome to the assassin, bringing a humble smile to his lips.

Searching the room around him for his friend, however, Ezio's smile faded, his lips becoming a tight line as the great artist in residence did not make himself evident.

"Leonardo?" he called again, louder, more rough. Concerned.

Frustrated grunts and groans echoing from the kitchen broke the silence, growing louder as Ezio moved slowly towards the source of the noise, which was now accompanied by banging and scraping.

Ezio's heartbeat slowed down from its worried rhythm when he turned the corner to find his best friend struggling in the kitchen with a jar of some sort.

"Hrrr! Hgnnn! Ah, _Maledizione!" _cried the frustrated artist when his delicate hands and weak arms lacked the strength to remove the cap from a jar.

"May I be of assistance, _amico mio?_" laughed the assassin, leaning comfortably against the wall.

Startled, Leonardo jumped around, dropping the jar which crashed to the floor. Fortunately, the jar's thick ceramics resisted the impact, and remained in one piece, to both the assassin and the artist's surprise, and landed on the stones of the floor with a clack.

Leonardo cleared his throat and retrieved the jar from the floor.

"Oh, er, Ezio," he said, embarrassed from both the fright and his clumsiness, "I didn't hear you come in. What, er, what can I help you with?" Leonardo focused on the container in his hands, not daring to meet Ezio's gaze, avoiding the risk of blushing further than he already was.

Ezio calmly, reassuringly reached out and patted his best friend on the shoulder.

"It seems to me, _amico, _that the question is more 'What can I help _you _with?'" he chuckled.

"Oh, er, it's nothing, Ezio. I'm sure I will be quite fine without your assistance. But thank you for your concern. So what did y-" rushed Leonardo, hoping that moving to a different matter will calm the burning in his cheeks.

"It certainly didn't seem that way when I came in" Ezio interrupted.

Leonardo knew his attempt at moving on had been unsuccessful. With a sigh, he lifted his gaze to meet the Assassin's and faced the music.

"Ah, it's just this silly jar, you see? I find myself quite unable to remove its lid."

Leonardo held out the jar to Ezio, allowing him to take it.

"Honey?" Ezio observed. "Another odd remedy of yours is it, Leo?"

Leonardo blushed. He liked it when Ezio called him Leo. It showed that he knew - understood - that he was special, and was the only one allowed to call him by his nickname.

The Assassin noted the scarlet burning bright in his best friend's cheeks, and realised the cause, bringing a sweet pink to bloom in his cheeks to match.

Silent moments passed before Leonardo cleared his throat and restarted the conversation again. "Er, no, actually. It's for my _prima colazione_," he gestured down to the sweet bread on the table, awaiting to be smothered in golden honey. "which is obviously going to have to wait, seeing as there must have been an error in the process of sealing the jar… or perhaps it's bro-"

Leonardo's ramblings and excuses were cut short when they were interrupted by a _pop, _as Ezio removed the cap from the jar with, what seemed to be no effort at all.

Smugly, he handed back the open jar to his friend and crossed his arms, grinning cheekily, proudly.

Leonardo snatched back the jar, rolling his eyes. "Alright, alright. You are an _assassino, _after all, I suppose the odd stuck jar would seem an easy target." Leonardo explained, setting the honey on the table beside the bread.

"Oh no, the cap wasn't stuck." Ezio teased further.

The artist glared with narrowed eyes, hands on his hips. His stance seemed almost feminine with shoulders jutting forward.

"Pah!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in dismissal as Ezio simply laughed, unaffected by his "menacing" stare. "Anyway, what can I do you for?" he asked, smiling.

Ezio held up the Codex page.

"A-ha!" Leonardo shone with excitement, reaching for the scroll before Ezio placed his hand on the eager man's chest and pulled back the Codex page further into the air behind his head.

"Uh-uh" he teased, "I refuse to allow you to skip breakfast, _amico mio, _and especially after all the hassle with the jar". He said quickly, not allowing Leonardo to fit in a single word of protest.

"Er, _certamente, _of course, but on one condition." The artist smiled cheekily as Ezio raised an eyebrow.

"Sì?"

"You grace me with your company" he grinned.

Ezio laughed, shaking his head in relief before welcoming the invitation, wrapping his arm around the other man's shoulders and escorting him the short distance to the chairs.

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A HUUUUGE thankyou to my good friend, TamChronic, who helped me with not only the editing, but also coming up with the story (which was born after an epic ACII marathon, during which, neither of us could open a jar of salsa ;D)

Hope you enjoyed it!

R & R please ^^


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